2025 Performers!
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Balfa ToujoursFriday Night Concert
Saturday Night Cajun Dance Workshops Christine Balfa, Jean-Jacques Aucoin, Blake Miller, Shane Guidry, Jimmy Breaux From Lafayette, Louisiana Balfa Toujours has been together for over 30 years. Christine Balfa formed the band after the death of her father, the legendary fiddler Dewey Balfa. Dewey Balfa was a National Heritage Fellow and is widely recognized a Cajun cultural ambassador central to the renaissance of Cajun and Creole culture. After his passing, Christine, a native Louisiana French speaker, wanted to carry on the traditional Cajun music and message of the Balfa family. Balfa Toujours, meaning "still and always," plays Cajun songs from their Louisiana culture and continue to write expressive and incredibly danceable original songs. The band consists of musicians with rich musical families as well: joining Christine Balfa (guitar) is Jean-Jacques Aucoin (accordion), Blake Miller (fiddle), Shane Guidry (bass), and Jimmy Breaux (drums). Christine also created the non-profit Louisiana Folk Roots and the Grammy nominated band, Bonsoir, Catin. http://www.christinebalfa.com/balfa-toujours |
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Earl White StringbandFriday Night Concert
Saturday Night Square Dance Workshops Earl White Fiddlin Earl White has been a prominent figure in the old time music and dance community for more than 50+ years. He is one of few Black Americans playing and perpetuating the music that was once an important part of black culture and black communities across the US. He is an original and founding member of the famed Greengrass Cloggers and received his first fiddle in 1975. Earl’s energetic, rhythmic, driving style is attributed to many years of dancing with the Cloggers to the delightful music of Tommy Jarrell, the Highwoods Stringband, the Plank Road Stringband, and the Horseflies, to name a few. His fiddling is as heartfelt as his dancing of earlier years. Currently, Earl leads the “The Earl White Stringband” with the superb accompaniment of Danny Knicely (guitar), Mark Schatz (bass), and Mark Olitsky (banjo). Earl lives in Floyd County, Virginia where he owns and operates the Big Indian Farm Artisan Bakery with his wife and fellow musician Adrienne Davis. |
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Sophie WellingtonFriday Night Concert
Workshops Sophie Wellington Sophie Wellington is a Boston-based musician who draws inspiration from old time fiddle music, percussive dance, and jazz improvisation. Growing up in Staunton, VA, Sophie was brought up around contra dances, choirs, music festivals and camps. These communities offered her the chance to make music in performance settings as well as at sessions and collaborative gatherings. Sophie is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music. Summers find her traveling widely, attending festivals and camps. She is passionate about teaching, and has been faculty at the Blue Ridge Old Time Music Week at Mars Hill University, Earful of Fiddle in Rodney MI, Augusta Heritage Center's Old Time Music Week and Fall Old Time Retreat in historic Cass, WV. In 2023 she was the recipient of a grant from Club Passim's Iguana Music Fund for her work integrating music and dance as a singular expression. She is also a champion fiddler, dancer, and singer placing first in multiple categories at the Hoppin John Old Time and Bluegrass Festival: Old Time Fiddle, Old Time Band, Flatfooting, and Folk Song. In addition to playing solo, she is in several bands including old time powerhouse Dumpster Debbie and classic country outfit The Talking Hearts. Most recently she joined acclaimed musician and storyteller Willi Carlisle for his album release tour Welcome To Critterland. https://www.sophiewellington.com/ |
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T-Claw Crawford and Bridget RueFriday Lounge Act
Saturday All-Ages Dance T-Claw and Bridget Rue T-Claw and Bridget will be performing together for one of the Lounge Acts. T-Claw is this year's featured caller and will be calling both the Friday and Saturday night square dances. T-Claw is a professional dance caller and musician with 20 years of organizing experience. He’s a passionate community-driven instigator for traditional music and dance, frequently employing unorthodox methods for maximum engagement. Growing up in Nashville, TN, he played mostly punk and jazz, all the while fighting for human rights, social justice, and better biscuits. In college, he crowd-surfed his way into an old-time barn storm and dove into strengthening networks of American social music and dance. Touring all of the lower 48 states and abroad he can boast a near perfect record for getting people to hold hands with strangers, laugh, and let go. With T-Claw, everyone is always invited. He dances in the kitchen with his wife and two girls every day and works to gather community for a healthier, happier world. Currently the music and dance coordinator for the John C. Campbell Folk School, T-Claw is also a co-founder of the Oly Old Time Festival and original member of Olympia’s own Grizzle Grazzle Tune Snugglers, a band whose motto was: “We are the Grizzle Grazzle Tune Snugglers and so are you!” We are delighted to have T-Claw back for this, the 15th year of the festival. |
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The ShadiesFriday Night Square Dance
Devin Champlin, Jenny Rose, Andy Rick, Levi Danner The Shadies hail from Bellingham, Washington, and have long been creating community by singing and playing old-time music at festivals across the west coast and beyond. They'll provide some rip-roaring tunes for your dancing pleasure at the Friday night square dance. Shine up your dancing shoes! |
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Sue Truman | The Crankie FactorySaturday Lounge Act
Saturday Workshop Sue Truman, Cil Pierce, Jerry Gallagher, W.B. Reid What is a crankie? It has nothing to do with being cranky! It’s a 19th century storytelling art form. It involves illustrating a long scroll which is loaded into a viewing box. The scroll is then hand-cranked as the story unfolds. A video is worth a thousand words, skip to the bottom to see some video shorts. Sue Truman has been making, performing, teaching and teaching crankie making for the last 13 years. Her website, The Crankie Factory, has over a million views and is the “go to” place for information. She has presented and performed in Europe, both US and Canadian coasts. Along with Cil Pierce (guitar, crankist and clogging) , and Jerry Gallaher (banjo, vocals and crankist), they have been cranking out the stories to the delight of audiences young and not-so-young! |
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Ella KorthFriday Lounge Act
Workshops Ella Korth is a singer-songwriter and driving guitar and banjo player. Growing up in a family heavily immersed in the acoustic music scene created a lifelong passion for both old-time and bluegrass music, which Ella brings to her craft. In the past few years, Ella has toured across North America and the UK as a side-musician, and played numerous festivals with her own singer-songwriter music. Her debut album produced by fiddle player John Mailander is set to be released later this year. |
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Eva Leach and FriendsSaturday Lounge Act
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Callers
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T-Claw CrawfordT-Claw is a professional dance caller and musician with 20 years of organizing experience. He’s a passionate community-driven instigator for traditional music and dance, frequently employing unorthodox methods for maximum engagement. Growing up in Nashville, TN, he played mostly punk and jazz, all the while fighting for human rights, social justice, and better biscuits. In college, he crowd-surfed his way into an old-time barn storm and dove into strengthening networks of American social music and dance. Touring all of the lower 48 states and abroad he can boast a near perfect record for getting people to hold hands with strangers, laugh, and let go. With T-Claw, everyone is always invited. He dances in the kitchen with his wife and two girls every day and works to gather community for a healthier, happier world.
Teaching Style Inclusivity. You gotta work with where people are at. |
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Steph NollSteph Noll is an old-time musician, dance caller and general fan of any opportunity to dance to live music. She loves the PNW old time music scene for its many opportunities to make and enjoy music with friends of all ages and has enjoyed calling dances at Pickathon, the Columbia Gorge Bluegrass Festival, the Portland Old Time Music Gathering, and at weddings, block parties, schools, and the occasional late night party in someones living room.
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Thank you to MicWerks for doing sound for this year's festival!
